MSI unveiled a new all-integrated mini-ITX motherboard that steps above the Intel Atom and AMD E-Series crowd, being based on Intel Celeron 847 dual-core processor (1.10 GHz, 32 nm "Westmere" micro-architecture, 2 MB L3 cache, SSE4.2, EM64T). MSI used a small fan-heatsink to cool the chip, which has 17W TDP. The processor is backed by Intel NM70 chipset. It is based on the compact 1023-pin BGA package, and is hardwired to the motherboard. One of the features that give the processor its edge over Atom and E-Series is its dual-channel DDR3 integrated memory controller with maximum memory support of up to 16 GB. The chip is wired to two DDR3 DIMM slots.

The only expansion slot is a PCI-Express 2.0 x1. Storage connectivity includes one each of SATA 6 Gb/s and SATA 3 Gb/s. Display outputs include DVI and D-Sub. A missed opportunity here is the lack of HDMI. 6-channel HD audio, gigabit Ethernet, legacy PS/2, and a number of USB 2.0/1.1 connectors make for the rest of it. Surprisingly, MSI designed the board with modern UEFI BIOS, which lets you take advantage of Windows 8 Secure Boot feature. There is no word on availability and pricing of the C847IS-P33.

I'm always on the lookout for mITX boards with 6 But this chipset only supports up to 4 ports if I remember correctly (6Gb, 3Gb x 3). Having those two ports would add to this board's versatility. Would certainly outclass some small business servers I've had in the past at 1/10th the size.

Anyhoo, looking at what it is instead of what it could have been, not bad. Make a decent office box among other things.